Friday, January 31, 2014

I love the New Year! Don’t
get me wrong, I can’t stand winter, but I adore the promise that a new year
brings. Nothing really changes between December 31, 2013 and January 1, 2014,
but there’s just something wonderful about a new start.

One thing I do every year,
personally and corporately, along with my church family is read the Bible. For
me, this all began two years ago reading through the Bible, from beginning to
end. And it’s true, no matter how many times you read stories from the Bible,
you can always glean new information you never noticed before. Last year was a
chronological reading of the Bible. This year, 2014, is something completely
different. We are going to read through the four Gospels, four times. In
addition, I’ve added the reading of Psalms four times too.

On January 17th I
read Matthew, chapter 17. This is the chapter when Jesus led Peter, James and
John up the mountain of transfiguration. After that amazing experience, Jesus
finds out from a father that the disciples failed to heal his demon-possessed
son. Jesus got mad at his disciples and then healed the boy. The disciples
wanted to know why they couldn’t drive out the demon…

“Because of your little faith,” He told them. “For I
assure you: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this
mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be
impossible for you.”

Matthew 17:20

Sometimes I feel just like
those poor old disciples must have. If all that’s needed is a mustard seed
amount of faith, then I must have faith the size of a… (Wait, need to look
something up) Then I must have faith the size of a quark! I’m always praying for more faith.
Like the song says, ‘oh for faith to trust Him more.’ It’s not that I don’t
have faith in God. I believe completely that nothing is impossible with Him.
But why can’t I believe this truth concerning myself?

Move a mountain, Lord? I’ll
get right on that. Have faith and be patient until my books are published? Got
it, Lord…being totally patient over here!

Then God spoke.

I prayed for my talent to be
used more. Boy did He answer my prayer and what a blessing it’s been. The last
quarter of 2013 was filled with so many dramatic performances, articles and writing,
writing, writing. When my minister handed me what appeared to be a huge stack
of work to be edited and re-worked for Easter I said, “Great, I’ll get right on
this!” But as soon as he was out of sight, I looked at the papers in my hand,
my jaw dropped open, I groaned loudly and the first thing that came to mind was…this is like a flippin mountain of work.

A mountain, where did that
even come from? Oh, I see what you did there Lord! This is one of those lessons
You’re so good at. So to say the least, I’ve been doing a lot of praying and I
actually have faith that God is going to move that mountain. Thank You, Lord
for reminding me of the mountain…the mustard seed…and to a lesser extent, the
quark.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

When I first saw a
friend’s Facebook post on her “One Word” I had no idea what she was talking
about so I did some investigation. Apparently this has been going on for
several years without me knowing. Who knew! Being the bandwagon jumper that I
am, of course I had to participate.

The premise of “One
Word” is sort of like a New Year’s resolution. But unlike a laundry list of
resolutions that are here and quickly forgotten, you choose one word to focus
on all year long. What kind of word? A word that motivates you, a word you can
strive toward, a word that gives you vision, a word that urges you on toward a
specific goal. If you can’t think of one, ask God where He’s leading you and He
will provide the word for you.

My one word is:ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGED, ENCOURAGER,
ENCOURAGING

I chose a Bible verse
to go along with my one word:

That is, that you and
I may be mutually ENCOURAGED by each other’s faith. Romans 1:12

Why encourage?
Because, I need encouragement every day to do what God has placed before me. I
need encouragement:

1.To study my Bible

2.To be a good wife

3.To raise my son

4.In my writing life

5.In leading FBC’s drama
group

I need to encourage:

1.My husband

2.My children

3.My sisters and
brothers in Christ

4.My pastors and church
leaders

5.My Christian writing
community

The list could go on
and on!

Lord, I pray that 2014
would be a year of encouragement. Let me be encouraged to do everything you
would have me to do and give me the opportunity to be an encouragement to
someone who needs it. Amen!

Monday, January 6, 2014

Every name God calls Himself and every name His people called Him holds clues to who He is, how He relates to His children, and the promises He has made—and kept.

Daily Reflections on the Names of God: A Devotional is published by Revell Books and endorsed by Kay Arthur, founder of Precepts Ministries International. It examines the biblical names of God through 366 daily readings and helps readers discover what those names mean for their own faith.

Daily Reflections on the Names of God offers you a wonderful opportunity to spend time each day getting to know God more intimately by exploring 122 of His names and attributes. Using three individual devotions for each name, you will discover something new about who God is, who you are, and how you relate to others.

One year from now, will you be able to say that you know God better than you did before? Revitalize your devotional life with an intimate journey through the names of God. Come, settle down with this book, and know God more fully. The next 366 days will pass quickly—make each one count!

This week only, Ava's devotional is available for only $3.99 from Christianbook.com! Stop by and pick up a copy before time runs out.